Married to a spy
by Imagine69
Summary: On their wedding day, Frank and Stella felt as if their lives would be perfect from now on. But of course, criminal masterminds don't care about letting high-ranking MI9 agents live in married bliss. Here are some snapshots of Frank and Stella's life together, because they're not going to let saving the world get in the way of their relationship.
1. Wedding

It had been a beautiful ceremony. Stella had, after much consideration, decided to let Aneisha and Keri design her wedding dress, and the girls had worked a miracle. They had chosen a beautiful white fabric that shone in the light, and had come up with a short train to trail along on the floor as Stella walked down the aisle. The collar was a most exquisite combination of folds, frills and creases, leading up to Stella's precious star necklace that she wore around her neck. Even the veil had been thought through carefully, with tiny silver stars sewn into the soft mesh to match Stella's temperament and identity to perfection.

Tom and Dan, seeing that the girls had been given such great responsibility, demanded the right to design Frank's suit. After much persuasion, they succeeded, and were given free reign to exert their creativity provided that they ran through the design with Frank before they sent it off.

Dan scoured the internet for ideas, regularly annoying Keri by asking her opinion over different suits. Keri could be heard complaining to Trina or Libi about Dan's latest investigations. "He looked up the most horrid green thing and asked me if Frank would like to wear it! I mean, can you even think? I was just like 'no', and he was like 'you sure?' and I was like 'yes, I'm sure'."

Tom, on the other hand, set about incorporating as many electronic gadgets as possible into different fabrics. At one point, he had shooting stars popping out of the pockets and exploding into sparks in mid-air, but Frank expressed concern over the safety of those in the vicinity, and Tom had to scrap the idea.

Eventually, much to Frank's relief, Keri and Aneisha decided to help the boys, and the four of them came up with a rather ingenious outfit for Frank.

Keri and Dan had taken over the aesthetics of the design, and after much argument and debate, decided to appeal to Oscar Cole and Carrie Stewart for help. Together, they had dressed Frank in a smart black jacket and dress pants, with a pale blue shirt and a white rose in his breast pocket. Keri had spent many an hour doing Frank's hair before the ceremony, ordering Dan to pass the brush or the hairspray, or the funny little bottles that Dan kept mixing up. But all in all, their work was done well and Frank was practically glowing as he stepped into the church.

Frank had been extremely nervous as he stood by the altar, awaiting the arrival of the bride, cursing his palms for sweating. Luckily, Aneisha had predicted this situation, and she'd gotten Tom to engineer the fabric of Frank's cuffs to absorb the sweat. To be precise, Tom, much to his chagrin, had had to appeal to Rose Gupta for help with this particular invention. Rose was only too delighted to help out, and jumped at the oppotunity. They'd worked together to produce this new fabric, and Frank could simply subtly touch his palms to his cuffs to remove the moisture.

Furthermore, Aneisha had also predicted Frank's elated shock on seeing Stella walk into the hall in her wedding dress. She smiled at him, and he completely froze. At this point, on Aneisha's prompting, Tom touched a button on the remote control in his pocket. A small jolt of electricity leapt through Frank's upper left arm, bringing him back to his senses.

The speeches were given, the vows exchanged and the ceremony was over. The jubilant newlyweds went outside for the photos, taking the crowd with them. Many of the crowd were MI9 agents, and had followed Frank and Stella through their early relationship, comforted either of both of them after the break-up, then watched in jubilation as they found each other again. Needless to say, many tears were shed during the ceremony.

After the photographs were taken, the reception was held at a function room at MI9 HQ. With many agents taking time off for the ceremony, it would be too much to leave the HQ understaffed during the evening as well.

The meal was delicious, and the speeches yielded many laughs, tears and confusion (Tom had attempted some science jokes). Then came the moment the team were looking forward too: the wedding dance.

Frank and Stella had been practising for some time. Neither were particularly terrible at the waltz, but neither were brilliant either. However, perhaps it was one of Tom's science tricks or perhaps it was magic, but the wedding dance was as perfect as could be.

They newlyweds weren't dancing so much as flying. Perfectly comfortable in each other's embrace, they floated across the dance floor and while the music played, there was no one else present. Stella's eyes were full of tears as she drank in the atmosphere, realising that _she was married to Frank_! At the same time, Frank could feel his heart bursting with love and joy as he realised that _he was married to Stella_!

And in that moment, with the music and the distant cheers of the wedding guests and most importantly, in each other's presence, life had never looked so promising for Frank and Stella.

But being spies, life would never be perfect. Just as the song came to a close and the crowd began to migrate to the dance hall, a junior agent came running into the room.

Much to Stella's relief, the agent didn't make much drama of the report, but came up to her straight away.

"Ma'am, I'm so sorry to spoil such an important day, but we've got a Code Zero agent demanding immediate attention," the agent said.

Stella's eyes immediately grew wide, and the smile that she had worn all day began to fade. "Thank you, agent. I'll come up there now."

The young agents hurried off, and Frank put an arm around Stella as they slipped out of the celebration and headed up to the office.

"You know, sometimes I wish criminal masterminds would just take a break on days like this," Frank said as they took the lift.

Stella leaned her head on Frank's shoulder. She was tired for the day, but still glowing with joy and no evil genius could take that from her. "I know. The country will always need saving, but at least we can still have as much of a life as possible."

"I love you," said Frank, looking down into Stella's eyes. Stella could see that he was equally exhausted, equally joyous, and equally as worried about whatever situation had come up.

"I love you too."


	2. Honeymoon

There had been a myriad of rules to follow. As high-ranking MI9 agents, Frank and Stella were forbidden to visit any country that was mildly at odds with the UK. They were to carry emergency communicators at all times and had had to undergo additional interrogation training in the event of capture by enemy agents.

Nevertheless, here they were, strolling along the coast of southern France in the gentle evening light. To any onlooker, they were simply a couple enjoying some times together. No one would have guessed that they were senior intelligence staff.

Stella had dressed comfortable in a red dress with a black belt, her hair loose and flowing in the wind. Frank wore track pants and a light coat. Neither of them looked remotely like a spy.

They walked along in silence, swinging their joined hands as they enjoyed the scent of salt and cool sea breeze. It was almost as if they were in another world, so far away from the offices and computers and politicians back at home. If only this could last forever.

Climbing a gentle slope, they came to a lookout. The view was beautiful, overlooking the ocean and the cliffs. The waves crashed on the rocks with almost a lyrical sounds, and the sky was a deep crimson blending into the blue, as if painted by an artist's brush.

"It's beautiful," Stella said as she stepped forward to the rail. Frank came up behind her and reached around her to place his hands on the rail as well.

They stood there for a while, admiring the view and wondering why they'd never taken time out before to enjoy life as they were now.

It was pure instinct that caused both of them to turn sharply, tearing their eyes from the sunset to face the two dark figures that had appeared behind them. Frank groaned inwardly. He recalled that this was why they'd never had the chance to relax before. Their jobs.

"Frank." Stella's eyes had noticed what Frank's had not. The intruders wore KORPS insignia on their shoulders.

"How low can KORPS get?" Frank said as he stepped in front of Stella, effectively shielding her from the attackers. "This is our honeymoon!"

Before he finished his sentence, Frank lashed out at the nearest attacker and engaged him in combat, while Stella took on the other one.

Frank and Stella weren't idiots. They knew that the situation was dire when the attackers turned up, cornering them at the rail that led to a 50-metre drop. So as they fought, they circled their attackers to get as far away from the edge as possible.

But KORPS wasn't stupid either, and wouldn't send two unarmed men to capture two of Britain's best agents. Both the KORPS agents had stun guns on them.

Frank managed to disarm his opponent fairly quickly. Frank pushed the KORPS agent closer and closer to the rail, and eventually the KORPS agent turned and ran. Picking up the dropped stun gun from the ground, Frank turned to the other KORPS agent.

Stella was doing an excellent job of dodging the attacks, letting her opponent hurt his fist by continuously punching a tree or a rock. Eventually her opponent decided that enough was enough, and pulled out his stun gun. Stella's eyes widened as she saw it.

Frank chose that moment to zap the remaining KORPS agent with his comrade's stun gun, and pull Stella out of harm's way. They ran down the hill back towards the village, where they slipped into a cafe and blended in with the other customers.

"Are you okay?" they both asked at the same time, breathing rapidly from the run.

Relieved that they were both unharmed, they hugged briefly and sat down at a table.

Frank ordered two coffees, and as the waitress walked away, looked at Stella as if awaiting orders. Their honeymoon was over, that much was for sure, and they had both instinctively slipped back into spy mode.

"I'll get us a pick-up," Stella said with a sigh. "We can't stay here any longer."

Frank sighed too. Trust KORPS to ruin everything.

"Frank, I'm so sorry - " Stella began, but Frank leaned forward and placed a finger on her lips.

"Not your fault. Not mine either. I don't want to hear it."

To Frank's relief, Stella smiled and relaxed. The waitress turned up with two steaming mugs of coffee.

They took their drinks and enjoyed them in silence, savouring the last moments of exclusive company.


	3. One Year Anniversary

"Stella, you look tired," Carrie observed as she walked into Stella's office. "Edward says he's put Oscar on the PR deal so we won't need you at the meeting tonight. Rose had finished the new memory wipe gadget, she asked me to give you the prototype plans." Carrie handed a USB to Stella.

"Thank you, Carrie," Stella replied. "And thank Rose for me."

"Also, the new M.I. High team called," Carrie continued. She'd always thought of Frank's new team as the 'new' M.I. High team. In her mind, she, Rose and Oscar would always be the default M.I. High team, and any other team was either old or new.

"Yes?" Stella prompted.

Carried looked up into the upper-left corner of the room, as if trying to remember the message. "Dan, Keri, Aneisha and Tom wish you a happy anniversary and they want to remind you that Frank's one of the most capable agents in MI9 so he's probably enjoying himself on a tropical island somewhere, thinking of you," Carrie recited.

Stella smiled sadly, suddenly feeling the need to increase the rate of her blinking. "Thank you, Carrie."

"Stella," Carrie's voice was soft and gentle. "I know that you totally outrank me and everything, but as a friend, why don't you take the night off?"

"Carrie, I really appreciate your concern, but I have a lot of work to do," Stella answered. "Thank you."

Carrie nodded and turned to leave. "Happy anniversary, Stella."

Opening the door, Carrie slipped outside into the corridor. She never heard Stella's quiet and bitter reply, "I wish."

Stella sat back in her chair, reaching forward for the framed photograph on her desk. It was taken on her wedding day. She and Frank were smiling up at the camera, Frank's arm around her waist and a bouquet of flowers in her hands. It was a pure and untainted photo of a carefree and joyous new life together.

A life that they would have, if they were not spies.

Frank had been gone for three months now, on a Code Zero mission. There'd been a massive security violation at the secure laboratory where the smallpox vaccine was kept, and Frank had gone undercover to eliminate the threat of the smallpox virus being revived as a biological weapon. Stella had been unwilling to send Frank, but had to admit that he was the best person for the job. Since they parted with a kiss and a promise to stay safe, Stella hadn't heard anything from Frank. Code Zero agents reported to no one, not even MI9.

A lone tear dropped onto the glass, and Stella wiped it away with her sleeve. The M.I. High team was right - Frank was possibly the most capable agent alive. But then - was he really alive? The thing about Code Zero agents was that they could be killed on mission and no one would ever know about it.

Stella shook the terrifying thought from her head and buried her face in her arms. She leaned forward on her desk and rested on her elbows, the cold metal of her wedding ring burning into the skin of her cheek. Alone and hidden by the indifferent walls of her office, overcome by anxiety and distress, she cried.

When Stella's reserve of tears had been exhausted, she sat up again and impatiently dried her eyes. Returning her attention to her computer, she began to look through the latest incident report. Apparently Stark had set alight to one of the chemistry labs. No fewer than fourteen scientists had filed a complaint. Stella was not looking forward to speaking to Stark.

She read for about a page, then realised that she hadn't taken anything in. She simply couldn't concentrate. This was her wedding anniversary - she should be spending it with Frank! She nearly succumbed to tears again, but then the door opened.

Despite the three-month-long disappearance, Stella recognised him immediately, scarcely daring to believe her eyes.

"The mission finished three hours ago." Frank's voice had never sounded so melodious and beautiful. "I took the first flight I could get. Sorry I'm late."

Stella stood up from behind her desk and took two steps toward him, still not daring to believe that he was real.

"Are you angry?" he asked nervously, as if expecting Stella to slap him across the face and scold him for not saving the world faster.

Stella continued to walk slowly towards Frank, and as she got closer, he could see the tear tracks and the shadows under her eyes.

"Stella, what's wrong?" Frank asked, immediately concerned. "You've been crying and you haven't been sleeping. Is it Stark? What's he done this time? I'm gonig to - "

Stella cut him off by kissing him on the lips. Instinctively Frank wrapped his arms around her, gripping her tightly as she, in turn held onto him with all her strength.

Eventually the kiss turned into a hug as each of them slowly allowed themselves to believe that they were really here, together, married for one year.

"Happy anniversary," they said at the same time, then dissolved into laughter.

"Come on," Frank said suddenly, grabbing Stella's hand and dragging her towards the door. "You're taking a night off. It's our anniversary."

For once, Stella couldn't help but agree. Even high-ranking MI9 officials were allowed to take a break from work once in a while.

That night, Stella slept soundly for the first time in months, falling asleep to the sound of Frank's even breathing, telling her that he was alive and well.


	4. Christmas

It was Christmas Eve, and Frank hung a piece of mistletoe from the rearview mirror in his car. He sighed. If only Stella were here, and not on a mission in some mysterious country.

Frank's phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out, seeing a text from Rose.

_Frank - Stella's back. I saw her go into the debrief room with the PM and a bunch of others. Thought you'd like to know. - Rose_

Whispering a silent thanks to Rose Gupta and her observations skills, Frank turned on the engine and hit the road, eager to get to MI9 HQ and find Stella.

* * *

"Where is she?" Frank burst into the room and let the doors slam shut behind him. Everyone looked at him, startled.

He looked around the room, ignoring the bewildered expressions of the Prime Minister, Minister for Security and the various high-ranking agents in the room. His eyes fell on the woman sitting at the desk in the corner, staring at him, wide-eyed.

Frank crossed the room in an instant to be at his wife's side, nearly dragging her out of her chair as he embraced her and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I heard you'd come back," Frank whispered. "Are you okay? What went wrong?"

"Frank," Stella said softly but firmly. "I'm in the middle of the debrief."

"Oh!" Frank finally realised that there were other people in the room, of very senior rank. "Sorry, everyone, Prime Minister! I just..."

Luckily, Stella's mission, which had been on the very edge of disaster, had turned out to be a success. Everyone was in a good mood, and merely smiled at Frank's embarrassment.

"I'll just wait outside..." Frank said, and darted out the door.

Outside the meeting room, Frank waited impatiently for the debrief to be over. Something had gone horribly wrong on Stella's mission abroad and Frank intended to find out what it was. It had been a top-secret mission, and even he had not gained clearance to have the details disclosed to him. All he knew was that it had something to do with nuclear missiles, and that Stella had been captured, possibly injured, and then rescued. She'd recovered overseas before returning to be taken straight from her plane to the debrief.

It would be an understatement to say that Frank had been worried about Stella while she was away. It would be an understatement to say that he still worried about her.

The door opened, and Frank leapt to his feet. He nodded and smiled to his superiors as they walked out.

Stella was the last to leave the room, a folder in hand and her eyes directed to the ground in front of her. She smiled shyly at Frank, but the smile didn't quite reached her eyes. There was something else in those beautiful eyes, Frank realised. To his shock and concern, he realised that it was fear.

He wrapped an arm around Stella's shoulders, and felt her tense up for a moment before she relaxed and allowed him to lead her along.

"I'm taking you home," Frank said firmly. "No protests," he added when Stella opened her mouth to object. "The paperwork can wait."

Stella didn't talk much during the drive to their apartment. Frank asked her questions, but received only vague and arbitrary answers.

"How did the mission go?"

"We got there in the end."

"Did you go anywhere interesting?"

"Not really."

"Did you miss me?"

"Of course!"

"Are you okay?"

"Fine."

"Are you sure?"

No response. Frank pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine, then turned to look at Stella. To his surprise, silent tears were running down her cheeks.

"Stella?" Frank reached over to take Stella's hand, cradling it in his own and feeling the roughness of her skin, wondering what had gone through while on the mission. He pressed a kiss to her hand and waited for her to speak.

"It's Christmas," Stella said, her voice laden with a childlike surprise. She looked outside, gazing at the fairy lights that decorated many of the buildings on their street. "I never even realised. Time passes so quickly."

"It's Christmas Eve tonight, Stella," Frank said, wondering where this was going.

"I forgot to get you a present." Stella's voice was soft and timid. Frank wondered where the chief agent in her had disappeared to.

Frank kissed her hand again. "Your homecoming is the best present I could have asked for."

Stella smiled again, but again, it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Frank, I'm sorry."

"Please don't blame yourself," Frank begged. "It can't possibly be your fault."

"They captured me." Stella was almost whispering. "They found out I was MI9."

Frank couldn't think of anything to say, and simply looked into her eyes and listened.

"MI9 got me out. They had me checked over at the hospital. Frank, I'm fine, only...I'm so sorry, Frank. I can't have children." Stella was crying in earnest now, a flood of salty water cascading down her cheeks and onto her starch-white collar.

"I'm sorry, Stella," Frank said gently. "But don't apologise to me. I've had enough of kids running around M.I. High. And we'd never be able to bring up a child as active agents anyway. And, well, I love you. I always will."

"I love you too," Stella answered, almost instinctively.

Simultaneously they leaned forward and their lips met. The branch of mistletoe hung on the ceiling above them.


	5. Two Year Anniversary

It was cold. Frank silently cursed the idiot who had decided to send two senior-ranked agents to a diplomatic meeting with the Russians. Then he realised that that idiot had been himself, and decided to focus on the mission.

The plan had been to fly in, do some talking, then fly out, to be home for their second wedding anniversary. They were not supposed to be kidnapped and locked up in tiny cell with no heating in the middle of winter. At least they'd been locked up together.

They'd been here for three days now, with not the slightest hope of escape or rescue. Stella was sitting in the corner of the cell, leaning against the iron bars. She shivered as she stared at the ceiling, as if trying to think up some way to get out.

But even if they managed to escape the prison, where would they go? They were in foreign territory in a freezing winter. Going without shelter for a few hours would give hypothermia the chance to set in and kill them. They needed a full-blown escape plan, or none at all.

Frank slid off the hard bed where he had been sitting and scooted over to sit next to Stella on the cold stone floor. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to him, rubbing his hands up and down her arms to try an warm her up. Since they'd been kidnapped from a heated meeting room, Stella was only wearing a thin blouse and trousers. Frank, at least, had his jacket.

Stella leaned into Frank's body, glad of his warmth and comfort. He had offered her his jacket when they'd first been thrown in here, but she'd refused so many times that he'd given up now. She couldn't have him freezing to death. What would she do without him? Besides, Stella was technically higher-ranked than Frank. As his superior, she had the duty to sacrifice personal comfort in order to take care of Frank.

"I'm sorry," Frank murmured into Stella's ear, his breath a welcomed warmth against her cold skin.

"It's not your fault," Stella answered. "You didn't know that we'd get kidnapped. Besides I agreed to it. I'm sure MI9 will get us out soon."

Stella shifted to bury her face in Frank's shoulder, sliding her arms around him.

"I'm glad you're here," Stella said, her voice muffled by Frank's jacket.

"Likewise," Frank replied.

They sat for a long moment, savouring each other's company and warmth.

A distant shout had them both alert. Another shout, this time clearer. Frank and Stella could make out the words. They were in English. "Freeze! You are under arrest!"

"Freeze! MI9!" Frank realised that the voice soundly oddly familiar.

"Drop to the floor!" Another familiar voice.

Footsteps approached the cell, but it was so dark and neither Frank nor Stella could make out who it was.

Someone fumbled with the lock and opened the cell door with a creak. Torchlight fell into the cell where Frank, having scrambled to his feet, was helping Stella off the floor.

"Come on, lovebirds," Oscar Cole said, waving the flashlight around.

"Yes, we need to hurry, or Rose will start lecturing us on how difficult it is to keep the auto-gates open," Carrie Stewart replied.

"Hello, Frank," Edward Dixon-Halliday said, "Sorry about them. It's just that Rose needs us to hurry. Are either of you hurt at all?"

"Just cold," Frank answered, as he guided Stella out of the cell, a protective arm wrapped around her. She was still shivering, but was smiling now, pleased to see that Frank's old team had come to their rescue.

"Thanks for this," Stella said to their rescuers as they jogged out from the prison.

Oscar and Carrie both shrugged.

"Couldn't let you two freeze in a Russian cell on your wedding anniversary, could we?" Carrie said.

Frank and Stella hadn't been keeping track of the date. But at Carrie's words, they did indeed realised that they had now been married for two years.

"Happy anniversary!" they said to each other at the same time.

An MI9 vehicle was waiting 500m from the prison, and they all climbed into the van. There was limited space in the van, so they were all sitting very close together.

Frank had an arm wrapped tightly around Stella, pulling her near to him in an attempt to give Oscar and Carrie more room.

"I love you," Stella whispered into Frank's ear.

Frank smiled. "I love you too."


	6. Stella' Birthday (I)

_Dear Stella,_

_Happy Birthday! Hope you manage to enjoy your day despite having to do paperwork._

_Also, thanks for feeding Flopsy last week when we had that compulsory museum excursion with you school._

_Love From,_

_Dan, Keri, Tom and Aneisha, on behalf of ourselves and Frank_

Stella placed the card on her desk along with the half a dozen cards that her friends and colleagues had given her. She like the M.I. High team's card best of all. Tom had managed to create a hologram-style cover featuring a 3D photo of the team, Flopsy, Frank and Stella.

Turning back to her paperwork, a sad smile played on the corners of her mouth. It was touching to know that she was well-loved by many of her colleagues. That morning, Rose and Carrie had presented her with cupcakes that they had baked, sprinkled with tiny blue stars on deep blue icing to represent the night sky. Oscar and his father were on the mission with Frank. Stella knew that Rose and Carrie were extremely busy running the department without them so she was all the more touched to see that the girls had put in so much time and effort to please her.

And yet, despite all the birthday wishes that she had received, Stella craved just one more. The MI High team had wished her a happy birthday on behalf of Frank, but it wasn't the same. But of course, contact with Frank was impossible. His current mission was high risk and abroad, in some Scandinavian country according to the last report.

With a soft sigh, Stella began to tap on her keyboard, writing up one of the latest agent assessment reports.

Absorbed in her work, Stella didn't notice the soft and timid knock on the door. The visitor knocked again, more loudly, and Stella looked up and called "Enter!"

Rose and Carrie came into the room. Rose was twisting her hands together nervously in front of her, and Carrie looked as though she'd been crying.

Stella immediately stood up and walked around her desk. "What's wrong," she asked urgently as she approached the girls.

"Edward and Oscar got back this morning," Rose said. She glanced at Carrie uncertainly, which did not help the nervous lump that had found its way into Stella's throat.

"Stella, I'm so sorry," Carrie said, tears springing to her eyes. Rose stared at the wall behind Stella, blinking rapidly.

"They lost Frank at the border. He's missing in action."

The world spun, and Stella was stumbling backward in shock. She walked backwards into her desk and gripped its edges, her knuckles turning white.

Rose and Carrie were speaking, but their voices were distant, as if played through a poorly preserved record tape. Darkness tugged at the edges of Stella's vision, until she succumbed to the blackness and collapsed against her desk.

* * *

Frank struggled against the ropes. The cellar was freezing and night was falling fast. If he didn't free himself soon, he risked severe hypothermia.

Frank didn't know who had captured him, a fact that made him all the more uneasy. He was simply glad that his distraction had given Oscar and Edward a chance to escape. They would head back to civilisation and alert HQ to summon a search team.

But if MI9 did manage to find him, it would be too late. he cold up here in the northernmost regions of Europe was brutal, and in winter with no heating and only summer clothes on his back, Frank would be lucky to survive the night.

No, he could not afford to wait. Already, the cold was numbing his mind and he was struggling to think clearly. He tore helplessly at the ropes, ignoring the pain as they cut into his ice-cold wrists.

But then the sound of metal jarred against Frank's jumbled thoughts and heavy footsteps approached him. Unable to see their faces in the dark, Frank looked up to see two pairs of angry eyes and jeering smiles.

"Agent London. Lovely to have you as our guest."


End file.
